2013 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship on TBS, CBS, TNT and truTV Scores Highest Rating for First Thursday of Tournament in 22 Years
Thursday's NCAA Tournament Coverage Earns 5.8 Overnight Rating, Up 4% vs. 2012
CBS Sports and Turner Sports' exclusive second round coverage of the 2013 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship across TBS, CBS, TNT and truTV on Thursday, March 21, averaged an overnight household rating/share of 5.8/14, the highest rating for the first Thursday of the NCAA Tournament in 22 years. The 5.8/14 is up 4% compared with a 5.6/13 in 2012.
Thursday's coverage showed significant audience increases in three of the four telecast windows, including several record setters.
· The first daytime telecast window (12-4:15 p.m. ET) averaged a 4.1/14 to deliver the second highest rating for the time slot since 1991, when the tournament expanded to four telecast windows for the entire day (trailing only 2011's 4.4/15). The telecast window is up 5% compared with a 3.9/13 last year.
· The second daytime telecast window (2:30-7:15 p.m.) averaged a 5.5/15 to garner the highest rating ever for the time slot. The window is up 6% over last year's 5.2/14.
· The first primetime telecast window (7-10:15 p.m.) averaged a 7.4/14 to register the highest rating ever for the time slot. The window is up 9% over a 6.8/13 in 2012.
· The second primetime window (9:30 p.m.-12:45 a.m.) averaged a 6.4/11, which included a pair of lopsided victories (VCU's 46-point win vs. Akron and Syracuse's 47-point triumph vs. Montana), vs. a 6.8/12 in 2012.
Tournament to date, including the NCAA First Four, the 2013 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship is averaging a 5.2/12, up 2% compared with a 5.1/12 at this same time last year.
For the third consecutive year, Turner Sports and CBS Sports are providing exclusive live coverage of all 67 games from the 2013 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship across the four national television networks.
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Source: Nielsen Media Research, based on Metered Market data, Live +SD data stream. 3/19/13 to 03/21/13 vs. 03/13/12 to 03/15/12. 2013 averages based on weighted average of 4 telecast gross across CBS, TBS, TNT and truTV. Historical audiences, CBS 1991 through 2005 based on Live data. 2006 through 2010 based on Live + SD. 2003 based on CBS / ESPN average of First Round.
2013 NCAA(R) Division I Men's Basketball Championship on TBS, CBS, TNT and truTv Is
Most-Watched First Thursday Since 1991
Thursday's NCAA Tournament Coverage Delivers a 5.5 US HH Rating and 8.1 Million Total Viewers
NCAA Tournament-To-Date is Most Watched in 20 Years
CBS Sports and Turner Sports' exclusive second-round coverage of the 2013 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship across TBS, CBS, TNT and truTV on Thursday, March 21 combined to deliver the most-viewed (8.1 MM) first Thursday of the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship since 1991, when the tournament expanded to four telecast windows, according to Nielsen Fast Nationals.
Thursday's coverage earned a Fast National HH rating/share of a 5.5/12, +4% vs. last year's 5.3/13, the highest average rating for the first Thursday of the NCAA Tournament in 19 years (5.6/14; 1994).
The 2013 NCAA Tournament-to-date, including the First Four, is averaging a 5.0/11, +6% from last year's 4.7/11, and is tied with the highest-to-date rating since 2006 (5.0/11).
Overall, the 2013 NCAA Tournament-to-date is the most-watched in 20 years (1993). The First Four and Thursday's coverage averaged 7.4 million viewers, +7% vs. 6.9 million viewers last year.
· The first telecast window of the day combined to earn a 4.0/13, +14% vs. last year's 3.5/13.
· The second telecast window of the day combined to earn a 5.1/13, +6% vs. last year's 4.8/13.
· The third telecast window of the day combined to earn a 7.1/12, +11% vs. last year's 6.4/12.
· The fourth telecast window of the day combined to earn a 5.9/11, vs. last year's 6.4/12.
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Source: Nielsen Media Research, based on Fast National Data, Live +SD data stream. 3/19/13 to 03/21/13 vs. 03/13/12 to 03/15/12. 2013, 2012 and 2011 averages based on weighted average of 4 telecast gross across CBS, TBS, TNT and truTV. Historical audiences, CBS 1991 through 2005 based on Live data. 2006 through 2012 based on Live + SD. 2003 based on CBS / ESPN average of First Round.
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